Fencing gear looks expensive and complicated from the outside, and parents often ask what they have to buy before the first class. The answer is nothing.
For the first class
Bring:
- sneakers with a good grip, the kind you would wear for a gym class;
- athletic clothes: a T-shirt and sports pants or shorts that your child can move and crouch in;
- a towel and a water bottle. Fencing is a lot of quick movement, and children get hot inside the kit.
A few practical things help too. Long hair is easier to manage tied back, under the mask. Watches, bracelets and dangling earrings are best left at home or in the bag.
What we lend
For the free class we lend a mask, a jacket, a glove and a blade. If your child continues, the same kit stays free for the whole first month. After that you have two options:
- rent the kit from the club for $40 a month, or
- bring your own.
Renting or buying?
For most beginners, renting is the sensible start. Children grow quickly, and a jacket that fits in October may be short in the sleeves by spring. Renting also gives your child time to find out whether fencing is their sport before you spend money on kit.
Buying your own makes sense when:
- your child has been training for a while and plans to keep going;
- they are starting to compete, and need equipment that fits them exactly;
- you would simply rather have kit that only your child wears.
Before you buy anything, talk to Coach Pasha. Equipment differs between the three weapons, and at our club you need sabre gear. The coach can tell you which items are worth buying first, what size to get, and what can wait.
Gear for competitions
Once a fencer starts to compete, the list grows. Competitions have their own rules about equipment, including minimum safety ratings for the jacket and the mask, and fencers usually need items such as fencing breeches and long socks. In sabre, touches are scored electrically, so a competing fencer also needs a conductive jacket called a lamé, a body cord, and a mask made for electric sabre.
Beginners train in the kit we lend, and the electric gear is not needed until a fencer competes. When your child gets to that point, the coach will tell you what to get and when.
Looking after your own kit
If you buy your own, a few habits make it last:
- air the jacket and the mask after every training, instead of leaving them closed in a bag;
- wash the jacket and glove regularly, following the label;
- check the blade for kinks and the mask for damage, and show the coach anything that looks wrong.
What it costs, all together
So that there are no surprises, here is the full picture for a beginner who continues after the free class:
- the monthly class price, which depends on the group and how many times a week your child trains, from $120 a month (see the price list);
- a $500 annual membership, which every member pays on top of the monthly price;
- equipment: free in the first month, then $40 a month to rent, or your own.
For every price in one table, and a first year added up, read how much fencing costs in Austin.
Any questions about gear or sizes, call Coach Pasha at (408) 592-1244. For what happens on the day, read your child's first fencing class, step by step.
